Day 336, Year 10: On the Way to Roanoke, VA
Date: Friday, September 11, 2015
Weather: Overcast with Drizzle Early, Then Partly Sunny
Location: The View Inn & Suites, Bethlehem, PA
Mark was feeling better this morning, so we decided to go ahead with our road trip to Roanoke, Virginia, just after his 1 pm radiation treatment. We didn’t exit the parking garage at Mass General until 1:50 pm and walked into our motel room here in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania about eight hours later. That time included a stop for snacks, a stop for dinner, plus a lot of slow going due to the always heavy traffic north and east of the Hudson River. Once we crossed the Hudson, the traffic thinned a bit, but there were still a lot of cars and a huge number of big trucks on the move this evening. We ate dinner in Phillipsburg, New Jersey which is the last exit before you enter Pennsylvania. While we ate dinner we searched for a place to stay using hotwire.com. We have never used it before, but my niece Candi recommended it to me today. Her mom, my sister-in-law Sue, recommended it to her. She stayed in a nice motel in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania last night and payed about $50. We went super cheap and searched for a hotel for under $40. It is a little disconcerting because you only get to choose a type of motel in your desired price range. You don’t find out the name or exact location until you have booked. The only promise is that it will be within a 9-15 mile radius. We were a little skeptical, but it worked perfectly and the motel is very nice. Breakfast is even included. I think the last time we paid $35 for a motel room was in the 1970’s. What a deal! Thanks, Candi (and Sue) for the tip. We’ll definitely use hotwire.com in the future.
I said at the beginning of this log that Mark is feeling better, and that is true. But he still has very little energy and he still has an upset stomach and really doesn’t want to eat much. But the pain is gone and that is what concerned me the most. He wasn’t able to sleep in the car today so he was pretty grumpy by the time we got into the motel room. But he is already fast asleep. We should have stopped sooner, but I pushed to drive until dark before stopping for dinner. We had planned to stay in Nyack, New York with our friends Ed and Lynne, but we cancelled those plans last night when I got to Boston and found out that Mark had thrown up a couple of times yesterday. Ed is also going through chemotherapy and certainly doesn’t need a stomach virus. So ‘just in case’ we cancelled. But we called them as we crossed the Tappenzee Bridge and told them to wave to us as you can see their apartment complex across the Hudson from the bridge. I’d love to get an early start in the morning as we still have four hours to go, but I’m sure the prudent thing to do is to let Mark sleep in as long as can. So for once in my life, I’ll be prudent.
